WEEK 25 REVIEW: Round-up of Saturday's league and cup action

DIVISION 2 CUP

In the Division Two Cup quarter final at the weekend, one of the most eagerly awaited ties of the competition saw two of the title rivals, Eastside and Chingford Athletic Development, go head-to-head for a place in the last four in Hackney Marshes. Luke Dimond struck for the Devs but Side goals from Jonathan Odutolu and Abraham Monae gave the hosts a 2-1 victory and a place in the semi finals.

DIVISION 3 CUP

Over in the Division Three Cup competition, two of the division’s top half sides went up against each other with Frenford A the visitors to Mabley Green to take on an in-form Tower Hamlets Reserves side in their quarter final match-up. Joao Alves found the back of the net for Frenford but his effort was in vain as Hamlets ran out 3-1 victors to secure their place in the last four.

DIVISION 4 CUP

There was a big shock in the Division Four Cup as bottom of the table Loughton Lions overcame a four place deficit in the league standings to eliminate Soul Youth from the competition as the last eight stage. Bill Roche, George Bird, Tommy Edwards and Will Osmond all netted for the Lions with Raihan Ahmed responding with two goals for Soul to see Loughton Lions to a 4-2 win, just one match away from an appearance at Dagenham & Redbridge FC.

SENIOR DIVISION

As games of football go, you’d have to go a long way to have beaten that which took place between London Cranes and East Ham Inter on Saturday as the two sides combined to produce a ten-goal thriller in West Ham. Inter netted through Adam Bessadi, Mihail Dodow, Ghenadie Mosiei and Shivnash Shakti but their efforts were in vain in the end as Cranes netted six goals of their own in reply win this epic encounter 6-4.

Over in Newbury Park, eighth placed Blue Marlin had a huge match as they payed host to Docklands Albion with both sides keep to earn maximum points and improve their respective league positions. Samuel Daminabo was the man who made the difference as his two goals for Albion helped earn his side a hard fought 2-1 win, seeing the East London side up to fourth place in the table.

DIVISION ONE

The sole Division One league contest over the weekend saw Chingford Athletic Reserves play host to Wapping with Athletic looking for a degree of revenge following a cup exit to the same opponents a few weeks ago. Mohammad Rafe and Joel Griffiths got on the Wapping scoresheet but James Lee-Legan’s brace and a Samuel Matthews effort confirmed a hugely important 3-2 win for Chingford, a result which keeps them well in the title race still.

DIVISION TWO

In Division Two, 1-1 was a popular scoreline with both fixtures ending up in that result. The first of those results came in Newbury Park where Old Esthameians were up against Rainham Working Mens Club with both sides showing some good form. A Chris Booker effort was equalled by a Dharwinder Mattoo goal for the visitors as both sides settled for a share of the spoils.

The division’s other match saw Upshire Forest go up against Cowley Community for a second successive weekend with Forest having had the upper hand from their cup tie last time out. On this occasion, there was little between the sides once again as Sam Tulley’s goal for Upshire earned them a share of the points in a 1-1 draw.

DIVISION THREE

There was a big shock in Division Three on Saturday as league leaders, Custom House United, suffered a damaging reverse at home against Flyers Reserves in a thrilling, goal-filled encounter. In a game of an astonishing eleven goals, Flyers bounced back from their recent cup exit against the same opponents to edge this one 6-5 on the day to stay within touching distance of the top half of the table.

That result gave a glorious opportunity to second placed Haver Town Reserves to cut the deficit and they duly obliged. They were however given a stern test by struggling Forest Green Reserves with Haver eventually pulling through in a 3-1 win. Ben McAllister scored twice and Reece Simpson once for the visitors to render Tommy Whelan’s effort as just a consolation.

Over in Walthamstow, Glendale were the visitors to take on old adversaries Chingford Harriers, who were hovering just a couple points ahead of the Dales going into the contest. Harriers raced into a two goal first half lead as Peter Shawyer’s close range finish and a Gerard O’Hara drive put them ahead. The second half saw a momentum shift however and Glendale rescued a point as Mouhamed Gueye slotted home first then Leon Sterling drove into the top corner to make it 2-2 on the day.

Down at Seven Kings High School, there was a comfortable win for cup semi finalists, New Star Soccer, who netted four goals without reply against St Francis to secure a sixth league win of the season. Kyran Chiedozie continued his run of form with another brace, adding to Micah Sutherland’s double to win 4-0.

DIVISION FOUR

In Division Four, there was just a single fixture which saw fifth placed Newham Royals playing host to a previously ninth placed Chigwell Mens Club side in Chadwell Heath. Five points separated these sides prior to kick off bug by full-time, Chigwell had slashed that deficit to just two points as Jack Hunt and Billy Barr both netted to earn their side a hugely important 2-1 win.

COUNTY CUP

It was a big afternoon for Division One side Chigwell on Saturday as they took part in their Essex Junior Trophy semi final with a place in the final at stake in their clash against Mid Essex League side Harold Hill. In a well contested tie, the sides were level at 1-1 at the break and the match was seemingly heading towards extra time. But Chigwell hearts were broken late on as Hill scored in stoppage time to win 2-1 and see them heading to the final instead. Commiserations to the Chigwell lads on what has been was a wonderful run in the competition, only thwarted in the dying moments of the semi final. Well done to all involved.